[Skamania] 🚁 Reckless Hiker Fines & The FYS Funding Crisis - 5/5 Skamania BOCC

[Klickitat] 🏗️ 6 Summer Bridge Closures - Klickitat BoCC 5/26 & 6/2

A major wave of bridge closures is coming to Klickitat County this summer, with six local bridges slated for mandatory repairs and detours. Plus, we look at a looming crisis in the East District Court as state Supreme Court rules complicate the hiring of critical public defense attorneys, and explore the severe statistics and regulatory red tape defining the Gorge's "childcare desert." In This Episode: * The pre-development trap and regulatory costs stalling early education * State limits on public defender caseloads * The creation of a new unified Community Development Department * The push to centralize public records requests Resources & Links: * Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com * Review the full June 2 BOCC Meeting Agenda & Minutes at klickitatcounty.org * Learn more about the Boardman childcare model [https://oregonbusinessindustry.com/how-a-manufacturer-created-a-community-child-care-program/] Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://facebook.com/OpenGorge].

[All-Gorge] 🛑 Bridge Test Piles Halted by Insurance Gap - HRWSBA May 27 & June 8

In this episode of Open Gorge, we break down the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority meetings from May 27th and June 8th. The Authority locked in a nearly 67-million-dollar operating budget for the coming year, but a critical test pile program is facing delays due to a complex liability insurance gap. In This Episode: * Navigating the insurance gap for Kiewit Construction's upcoming test pile program. * A bureaucratic standoff with the National Park Service over federal land mitigation at Marina Park. * Funding strategies while waiting for massive federal grant announcements. * Updates on the Umatilla Tribe Memorandum of Agreement. Resources & Links: * Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com. * View meeting agendas and past minutes at hoodriverbridge.org. Documenter notes are available for republishing under Creative Commons license CC by 4.0. With thanks to Columbia Gorge Documenters, powered by Uplift Local: https://upliftlocal.news/columbia-gorge/columbia-gorge-documenters/ [https://upliftlocal.news/columbia-gorge/columbia-gorge-documenters/] Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://facebook.com/OpenGorge].

[Klickitat] 💧 Protecting the Watershed - Goldendale May '26 Round-up

Goldendale took a massive step this month toward protecting your drinking water by securing over a hundred acres of vulnerable watershed land. Plus, a record drug bust highlights the escalating strain on local law enforcement and our rural courts. In This Episode: * New fifteen-dollar public records fees * A major fentanyl seizure and county probation renewals * Airport updates and the grounded courtesy car * Wildfire preparation and prescribed burns near city limits Resources & Links: * Read the full written Klickitattler at SkamaniaDispatch.com * City of Goldendale official website and meeting agendas: ci.goldendale.wa.us * Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Behavioral Health Fact Sheet [https://wacities.org/docs/default-source/legislative/factsheetbehavioralhealth2025.pdf] Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://facebook.com/OpenGorge].

[Skamania] 🕯️ Demanding Answers to Domestic Violence - Stevenson May '26 Round-Up

This month, we are looking at the heavy and the controversial coming out of the Stevenson Planning Commission and the Stevenson City Council. In the wake of a tragic local murder, residents are stepping up to the microphone to demand better domestic violence intervention from the county, while a controversial hop-farm campground faces a massive wall of legal and neighborhood opposition. In This Episode: * The community response to the murder of Candice Malave * Stevenson's official Pride Month Proclamation * The Hop-Farm Campground standoff and legal threats * Protecting Stevenson's fifteen million dollar treatment plant from industrial waste * Financial incentives in the newly revised Sewer Ordinance * Alarming state estimates regarding the Cape Horn Bridge Resources & Links: * Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com * Skamania County man arrested after estranged wife found dead at Stevenson apartments [https://katu.com/news/local/cousin-of-stevenson-woman-killed-by-estranged-husband-speaks-out-oregon-washington-southwest-skamania-county-domestic-violence-custody-murder-homicide] * City of Stevenson Website & Agendas: https://www.ci.stevenson.wa.us/ [https://www.ci.stevenson.wa.us/] * Submit public comments to City Hall or via email prior to noon on the day of the meeting. Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://facebook.com/OpenGorge].

[All-Gorge] ⚡ Scoping Deadlines & Tribal Consults - EFSEC May '26

The state's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council hit a major procedural bottleneck this month regarding the proposed Cascade Renewable Transmission line. We break down the May 20, 2026, meeting where local leaders and state officials debated how to balance rigid public comment deadlines with expanding, sovereign tribal consultations. In This Episode * Following the money: Corporate reshuffling and upstream financial accountability for Columbia Solar and Goose Prairie Solar. * Ostrea Solar wrapping up its final construction obligations and pushing for full grid integration. * A rare vandalism incident and subsequent physical security repairs at the Kittitas Valley Wind facility. * A massive leadership transition and strategic overhaul inside EFSEC itself. Resources & Links * Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.com * Cascade Renewable Transmission SEPA Scoping Portal [https://efsec.wa.gov/hearings-and-meetings/2026/cascade-renewable-transmission-sepa-scoping-public-comment-hearing] * EFSEC Meeting Agendas and Complete Packets (efsec.wa.gov) Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://facebook.com/OpenGorge].